Back to the Washington State Cougars Newsfeed

Old office-temperature rule for men leaves women freezing at work

A new study says most office buildings set temperatures using a 1960s model based on men’s faster metabolic rate. It says “gender-discriminating bias in thermal comfort” should be reduced because slightly higher temperature levels can combat global warming.

Summers are hot in Omaha, Neb., where heat indexes can top 100 degrees. But Molly Mahannah is prepared.

At the office, she bundles up in cardigans or an oversized sweatshirt from her file drawer. Then, she says, “I have a huge blanket at my desk that I’ve got myself wrapped in like a burrito.”

Recently, “I was so cold, I was like ‘I’m just going to sit in my car in like 100-degree heat for like five minutes, and bake.